In the telecommunications service industry, numbers, e.g., telephone numbers, are a valuable and finite resource. Number resource management, i.e., the process of setting aside specific numbers for external and internal customers, has become a critical function of telecommunications service providers.
Recent changes in the U.S. telecommunications regulatory environment have opened up local markets to competition and, in response, Local exchange carriers and providers of telecommunications services have instituted Local Number Portability ("LNP") plans which enable customers to keep their local ten digit telephone number (i.e., NPA-NXX) when they move from one carrier to another. However, as a result of increasing competition and LNP in the local markets, management of local telephone numbers has become more complex. With the growth in local services, carriers, and customers, telephone numbers have become a limited resource and are no longer the exclusive property of one company in any geographical region. Several new carriers in each local serving area must now be assigned various numbers, and a number can move with a customer from one carrier to another.
Besides providing portability among carriers, there is fast approaching the need for LNP plans to provide geographical number portability which enable customers to take their local telephone number with them when they move from one serving area or rate center to another. This means that associating a number with a rate center becomes a dynamic function. Complicating this matter is the fact that federal regulations dictate how numbers must be reserved, assigned, and managed, with many states imposing their own regulations. A carrier must abide by both federal and state regulations in each local serving area in which they compete.
To date, the process of managing and tracking numbers, e.g., available to a local service customer base is predominantly manual, increasing potential for error and loss of data integrity. A common cause of rejects during the telecommunications service provisioning process is directly related to the use of numbers that are already in service or do not belong to the telecommunications service provider. Lack of specific business rules regarding number reservation and assignment have caused an inefficient use of the numbers and have negatively impacted sales and revenue.
It would thus be highly desirable to provide an integrated means for managing number resources, including the reservation, assignment, and status tracking of local telephone numbers.
It would additionally be highly desirable to provide a highly automated process enabling local sales personnel and order entry staff of a telecommunications service provider immediate access to available number resources for expedient processing of customer orders.
Furthermore, it would thus be highly desirable to provide a telecommunications number management system with a comprehensive automated LNP plan that can provide number portability among carriers and geographical portability.